Amylase (diastase) from Aspergillus niger has been immobilized through glutaraldehyde coupling onto zirconia coated alkylamine glass beads affixed inside a plastic beaker. The immobilized enzyme retained 10.3% of the initial activity of free enzyme with a conjugation yield of 10 mg/g. Optimum pH, incubation temperature and time for maximum activity, were increased while Km for starch and Vmax were decreased after immobilization. The utility of immobilized enzyme in removal of starch stain from cotton cloth by various commercial detergents was tested by chemical method. All the detergents gave better washing in presence of immobilized amylase than that by detergent alone. Further, the washing by cheaper (non-enzymic) detergents in presence of immobilized amylase was almost similar to that by expensive (enzymic) detergents. The immobilized enzyme was used about 100 times without any considerable loss of activity.

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